PLANET IN PERIL

Western  Producer The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken a step toward increasing the production of organic foods – which has not kept pace with demand, by launching a program to certify farmland that growers are in the process of switching to organic. Story here. An organic garden in Manitoba. PinP photo.

WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE A new study in the journal Nature  explores a vicious cycle: as a changing climate driven by greenhouse gas emissions warms the planet, soils heat up and the micro-organisms that live in the soil start to expel heat-trapping carbon dioxide, reinforcing the problem of climate change. Story here.

CBC news Documents show inspectors with the Canada Food Inspection Agency scrambled to meet deadline for time-sensitive salmon egg test. Story here. A wild Atlantic salmon. Photo credit - Wikipedia.

rabble.ca A forest in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, rendered "ghost-like" by hoarfrost. PinP photo. If you fly over a forest and look down, you'll see every green tree and plant reaching to the heavens to absorb the ultimate energy source: sunlight. What a contrast when you look down on… Story here.

The Washington Post A Mexican coastline. PinP photo.  Intense future climate change could have a far different impact on the world than current models predict, suggests a thought-provoking new study just out in the journal Science Advances.   Story here.

The Washington Post Your morning cup of joe, the must-have chair purchased at that trendy furniture store and the palm oil that’s key to a favourite family recipe, all have elements ripped from the habitat of a threatened or endangered animal somewhere in the world. Story here. Burrowing owl. PinP photo.